"This is crazy."

"This is not crazy, you've been talking about it for years! What did you expect, me to show you around everywhere? Would you like me to interview your new Clawmates, too?" Glory rolled her eyes sarcastically, but ruffled Nightstar's spines with affection. "You'll be fine."

"I won't be fine. This place is a centre of chaos and you're dropping me in the middle of it." Nightstar protested. "Oh! And not to mention, the dragons! Wow, how could I forget those? I have no friends here!"

"You have no idea how weird it is to hear you saying those words." Glory smiled, amused at her only son's refusal to enter Jade Mountain Academy. "But think about it. Do you really want me to walk into the room of your future friends with you?"

"Yes."

"Really? Your embarrassing mother who will smother you with attention in front of them?" She raised an eyeridge.

"Yes. Do that." Nightstar insisted.

Glory sighed, not for the first time today. She reached out and placed a claw on her son's purple shoulder, and watched as the scales in his ruff rippled from their usual flared orange to the unmistakable meadow green of nervousness.

"Nightstar. These dragons don't want to kill you." She sighed dramatically.

"You don't know that." He pointed out. "Unless you can present me with evidence, the conclusion is that whilst highly unlikely, some dragons may want to kill me."

Okay, that's really really unlikely, but I still don't want her to leave me here. Alone. With the freaky IceWings over there who are giving me the death glare. Or those SandWings who are... Making sandwiches. Huh. Okay, less dangerous, BUT they could be POISONOUS sandwiches.

Qibli would be proud, he thought fleetingly. Qibli had dropped by the Rainforest once and became Nightstar's immediate idol.

"Alright," Glory sighed, gazing into his eyes, and he could just tell how impatient she was getting inside. But far from it, a sympathetic smile flickered onto her snout and she extended her other claw to him. "Shall we go for a fly around the grounds first? To clear your mind? And then you can tell me what's really wrong, because there's no way you've changed your mind about school."

She was frustratingly accurate: after all, his first words had been 'Jade mountain'

Wait, no, those were his second and third words, the first one had been 'Run'. He recalled having a lot of fun with that one.

Run run run run run run run RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN -

He suddenly became very aware of a younger NightWing student giving him the weirdest look from across the clearing, and noticed the silver teardrop scales by her eyes with an uncomfortable jolt...

Nightstar bowed his head and let his talons shuffle awkwardly in the dirt. He was halfway through drawing a little stick-dragon, when he swept his tail over it and brushed the soil over like soft sand. "Yeah, okay." He finally mumbled. 

Glory's gentle smile radiated through his mind as he took off after her, the effort of flapping straining his younger wings. I'm going to get better at flying here. He swore. I'm going to get REALLY SUPER OOBER GOOD and then beat Cloverpool in a race when I return as the marvelous dazzling hero I will be.

They were gliding with the currents over rolling fields and valleys that stretched like great green blankets under the rocky mountain spires, that seemed to reach like claws over his very body. He suddenly felt very small behind his important mother, who was flying with such deliberattion and grace it made him look like an awkward pigeon by her side.

Perhaps sensing this, Glory dipped back and her shoulders relaxed, and she took Nightstar under the shadow of her wing. "So?" She raised an eyeridge, sounding somewhat amused.

"I miss home." He admitted. "It feels kind of mneehh here. Gives me that creepy feeling, like something's not right. And um -" He ducked away, slightly embarrassed. "You know I'm still scared of that dragonet killer on the news scroll."

"That silly thing? Nightstar, this is a school - No more, a school that has never failed a security check."

"You know I don't trust the security squad, what about that conspiracy theory where they're all trying to get our scales to trade overseas with Pantala - ?"

"It would pay you more good to stop listening to all that rubbish about conspiracies that Qibli spouts." Glory narrowed her eyes. Nonetheless, he saw the landing outcrop flash beneath them, and tucked his wings in for a neat landing. Instead, he ended up scraping his tail against the tree and landing overturned on the meadow. Glory gave him another affectionate pat as she helped him up, and then she wrapped his wings tightly around him. Nightstar leaned into her warmth, enjoying the tightness and safety it gave him.

"I love you, little sloth." She grinned.

"Muuuum, I said don't call me that." He giggled. 

"Nope. You'll always be my little sloth. Now, what were you saying about having no friends here? I know a certain purple SilkWing that would be rather let down by that."

Nightstar's tail perked up and his ruffs flared as he suddenly remembered that yes, Striker was coming here! They hadn't seen each other in AGES. Though that may be because of the last time when they accidentally set some stuff on fire that apparently, wasn't meant to be set on fire. 

Nighstar brushed his wings out, sweeping around on the warm and feathery grass like he'd just discovered the meaning of sunlight. A broad grin spread across his snout, and he broke away from Glory, staring warmly into her eyes. Her returning gaze was proud. 

Though before he could say anything else, something bright indigo and spiky tackled him from behind and the two dragons went spiraling around on the field.

Nightstar thrust his head up, half winded, and trilled like a young dragonet as Striker shifted off of his body. He was wearing a gleeful grin (And a necklace that looked like it belonged to his sister Cecropia)

"Night!" He yelled.

"Strike!" He yelled back, with equal enthusiasm.

Striker's wings buzzed with excitement as he hopped around, nearly bouncing off the ground. "I knew it! I knew you'd be here today! We have so much to catch up on! Wait until you see the classrooms! Oh, and the library, it's got these scrolls that are like a million years old! A MILLION!" His voice was fast and breathless, like he’d been holding all these words for weeks.

And he probably had, because there was no-one else Nightstar knew apart from himself that could match Striker's endless energy.

Nightstar laughed and he felt the nervous tension he’d been carrying all morning start to get buried under a greater mound of worries that came from meeting Striker again.

Like, what if he's changed? What if I've changed? what if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore?

“You haven’t changed at all,” he blurted, his tail flicking playfully, but his eyes betraying different feelings. He almost willed the thought to be true, but he couldn't tell from Striker's permanently goofy face whether he noticed.

“Well, someone has to stay consistent,” Striker replied with a mock-serious nod. “And that someone is obviously me.”

Glory chortled and smiled from a few paces away. "I’ll leave you two to catch up."

No! Not yet!

"Nightstar, you’ll be fine, I promise." She pressed her snout to his forehead, a gesture both of comfort and farewell. "Your sister's in the Winglet below yours and she'll be there. And remember, I’m just a letter away if you need anything."

Nightstar nodded, swallowing the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. “I know, Mum. I’ll... I'll be okay.” But he wasn’t sure if he was convincing her or himself.

They were just words, after all. Nothing had changed.

With one last smile, Glory spread her wings and launched into the sky in a tangle of vibrant scales. Nightstar watched her until she became a dot on the horizon, then turned back to Striker, who was grinning like he’d just won a game of Hide and Seek.

Oh mum... I hope you're right. I hope I'll forget my fears after a while.

“Ready to meet everyone?” Striker asked, nudging him with a wing. “I promise, not all of them are as murderous and scary as they look.”

Nightstar glanced around the bustling clearing. There were dragons of every tribe, chatting, flying, and some even wrestling in a friendly competition. It still felt overwhelming, but Striker was staring at him imploringly.

Striker led the way, weaving through the crowd with practiced ease, greeting dragons left and right. Nightstar followed closely, his heart beating a little faster as they neared the entrance to Jade Mountain Academy.

Nightstar stole a final glance at the turquoise line of his mother's wings in the far far distance, and then turned to look at the arch.

Together, the two purple dragons stepped over the boundary.

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Phew! Chapter one finished! What do you think of how Nightstar's grown?

Oh, and his worries aren't in vain, don't get too comfortable. I've decided (spontaneously) that he was hatched under a full moon but was only semi exposed... He has no proper abilities, but he does have empathy abilities equal to the level of Fatespeaker's visions.

Anyway, also going to say that I'm NOT going to detail on all the usual prey Centre, Clawmates, Yadda Yadda etc stuff cause it's done too often...

... We'll skip to the middle of the night, eh?

~ Solar out